22cans Kickstarter aims to reinvent Populous as Project Godus

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In recent times Peter Molyneux is known for the Fable series on Xbox, leaving Microsoft/Lionhead to form a new studio called 22cans, and launching the game Curiosity where everyone chips away at a cube in search of the prize at the center. But if you look further back in gaming history you’ll find he’s behind the creation of hits including Populous, Dungeon Keeper, and Black & White.

Now Molyneux is heading up his experimental games studio, he has the freedom to revisit the gameplay and concepts presented in such classics, and that’s exactly what he looks to be doing with a new game called Project Godus.

As is fast becoming the norm for new independent game projects, Project Godus has been setup as a Kickstarter with 22cans hoping to raise £450,000 (US$715,000).

In a nutshell, Godus is a god game and “an innovative reinvention of Populous.” 22cans is aiming to take the gameplay of Populous and bring it bang up to date with a modern game engine, while adding multiplayer and construction aspects stolen from Dungeon Keeper, and an interface that builds on what was found in Black & White.

Ultimately, it’s another Peter Molyneux game that lets you decide if you’re good or evil, lets you to build and destroy, and will have a heavy emphasis on multiplayer and interaction between up to 8 players (although watching the video suggests that may get pushed upwards).

There’s very little in the way of specific details about the game, but if you’ve enjoyed any of the previous Molyneux games mentioned above chances are you’re interested.

Securing a copy of the game, which is expected to be available as early as January, requires a pledge of roughly $24. That guarantees you a download copy, access to the beta, a streaming version of the Making of Godus documentary, a PDF of the design document, a unique in-game achievement, and the ability to watch the 22cans development webcam.

The pledge levels increase up to around $8,000, which includes an expenses-paid visit to E3 as Molyneux’s guest along with VIP access while there, and also an interview with the man on G4TV.